Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman novel Chapter 173

"He left to deal with some business. You've just been released from the hospital. Why didn't you go home to get some rest?" Jean knitted her eyebrows and said unhappily, "I asked John to take care of you. Why did he bring you to work? He knew that you were ill and hospitalized. How could he have no sense of responsibility?"

Maranda held Jean's hands and hurriedly explained to her. "Jean, don't be upset with him. Something happened at the company. Hence, our boss called him. He needed to meet with Sonny. That's why we came here."

Jean was shocked and asked, "What happened?"

Maranda replied, "John got a call from our boss when we were returning. I heard that some investor withdrew his investment from our company. This seemed to have something to do with John. Since he needed to get back and help deal with the situation, he couldn't send me home. We had to rush here instead. Moreover, if I had gone home, I would have no way of finding out what had happened. And so, I decided to come here with John. That way I'd be able to figure out what all this is about."

'Investor? Withdrew investment?'

Jean's face paled. There could only be one investor who would do such a thing. The timing couldn't be a coincidence. How could she have been so naive to think that the situation between her and Ethan wouldn't affect her work? Slowly she turned and walked toward Sonny's office.

"Jean......" Maranda wanted to stop her from going to find Sonny. However, just as Maranda stretched her hand to grab her friend, she realized that Jean was Sonny's apprentice. Jean probably had to go help Sonny, just like John had to. And so, she let Jean go.

Anxiety mounted as Jean walked to Sonny's office. When she arrived, Jean noticed that the door was half-open. As she walked closer, she could hear Sonny speaking.

"John, just tell me the truth. Did Ethan look or behave weird when you met him at the neighboring city?" Sonny looked very grave. He was pacing in front of his desk.

John stood in front of Sonny's table and expressionlessly replied, "No. He showed up with Selena. At that time, he looked very happy. I was unable to discern anything different or weird about Ethan's behavior."

"But how could they be missing if everything was well? Did you know it''s not just Ethan who is missing? No one can find Selena either. The Lei Family has reported this to the police. However, the police is at a loss for what to do. They have no idea where to begin their investigation. The Lei Group will withdraw their investment in our company if they learn that something happened to Ethan during one of our shoots. As you already know, our company is short of funds. Our situation would worsen if they withdraw their investment."

Sonny looked grim as he spoke with John. He sighed helplessly as he leaned against the desk.

Jean, who was standing outside the office, took a step back when she heard them speaking. She didn't know the extent of Lei Group's involvement with Sonny's company. She knew that Ethan and Sonny were friends. Isn't that why Ethan introduced Sonny to Jean?

At that thought, Jean's hand flew to her mouth. Did Sonny hire her because of her relationship with Ethan?

Did Ethan force Sonny to accept Jean as his apprentice?

Jean had thought that she had earned this position because she had talent. She had never once considered that Ethan had done this to curry gratitude and favor from her. The more she thought about it, the weaker Jean felt. She leaned against the wall as her mind tried to make sense of everything.

Once the shock wore off, Jean remembered that Ethan was missing.

This is why the Lei Group had approached Sonny. Ethan and Selena had been at the same location where Sonny's crew had gone to shoot pictures. Ethan had told Jean that their meeting was a coincidence. He had said that he had brought Selena to this beautiful location for a holiday. Had that been a lie? No wonder the Lei Group thought this was connected. And they had reported this to the police so that they could help them look for Ethan.

Selena was missing too. Perhaps Zed had done something to them?

Jean couldn't think about all this any more. She needed answers.

Should she call Zed and ask him? Jean really wanted to! However, they had quarreled with each other many times because of Ethan. Even earlier in the day they had a huge argument over Ethan. Asking Zed would just anger him more. So Jean could do nothing but helplessly shake her head.

Jean didn't know how long she had been standing outside Sonny's office. She was shaken from her thoughts when the door opened and John stepped out. His face was expressionless.

"Jean......" John closed the door and looked around. Then he walked closer to Jean. He was surprised to see her leaning against the wall.

"Hmm, I have been waiting for you." Jean tried to explain. It would not look good if John figured out that she had heard their conversation.

John frowned. 'Jean was looking for me?' He was certainly surprised. Then, he asked, "How long have you been standing here?"

Jean's face paled as she explained, "I heard some parts of your conversation with Sonny. You were there last night when Ethan came to the hospital to find me. Why didn't you tell our boss the truth?" Jean raised her eyes and looked straight at John.

John stopped walking and turned to look at Jean. He fidgeted as he tried to think of what to say. Finally, he looked at the floor as he explained, "Because I know you have nothing to do with Ethan's disappearance."

"What if I tell you that this might have something to do with me?" Jean didn't intend to conceal the truth from John.

"What?" John frowned as he thought about what Jean had said. With everything that was happening, John didn't have the time nor the patience for guessing games. He also couldn't believe what Jean had said. He stared at her in confusion as he spoke, "You are just a girl. How can you be involved in something like this? Go home and get some rest."

After he finished, John walked away without another glance at Jean.

"John, wait!" Jean hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed John's arm.

Unnerved by Jean's abrupt behavior, John looked at Jean's small hand that was tightly gripping his arm. Then, he slowly turned around, impatiently glared at Jean, and asked, "What are you thinking? It is inappropriate to behave like this at the company."

"John, you've been acting weird lately. Aren't you curious about what I just said? When I followed Ethan, weren't you even a little bit concerned? After all, we were in a new city and I didn't know anyone." Jean was angry now.

"I......" Suddenly, John was stunned and didn't know how to reply to Jean.

"What's your excuse, John? You treated Maranda coldly. And then you treated me the same way." Jean was very furious. She expected more from John. "You talk about being professional at the company and yet, when you traveled with two women, you couldn't put aside your personal feelings and do the right thing. How could you not care or feel obliged to watch out for the women you were traveling with? A proper gentleman would have! Is it because you are cold and selfish?"

There was nothing more that Jean wanted to say to John. And so, she turned and walked away.

John was stunned. Long after Jean had disappeared, John was still standing where she had left him. A while later, he sighed and went back to his office.

When Jean returned to her desk, she was still furious with John. She huffed as she sat down.

Maranda rushed over to find out what had happened. "What's wrong?"

Jean didn't look at Maranda. Instead, she began organizing her desk. "Nothing. I am just angry with John."

Maranda was amazed and couldn't help asking, "John? What did he do now to make you so angry?"

"I ran out of the hospital for something last night, but he even didn't stop me. I still feel a little scared when I recall what happened last night." Jean knew that what had happened was not John's fault. And yet, a part of her felt that last night's incident could have been avoided had John stopped her.

"He went to look for you after you left. He even called you, but you had left your cell phone in the ward." Maranda hurriedly took the cell phone out of her bag and returned it to Jean.

Jean hadn't been expecting that. She was bewildered. "What? Did you just say that John went looking for me last night?" Maranda's revelation had been so unexpected that Jean had trouble believing her.

Maranda nodded and answered enthusiastically, "Yes!" She frowned as she continued, "After he couldn't contact you by phone, he didn't return to the ward for a long time. And when he did, John looked very anxious. When I asked him where he had been, John said that he searched everywhere for you but he hadn't been able to find you. It was dawn and I had just woken up. But he implored me to help him look for you. Later, he was stopped by Mr. Qi's staff member in the hotel lobby. However, he insisted that he wouldn't leave until we had seen you and made sure that you were all right."

"What?" Jean was stunned and stared at Maranda in shock. This was all too much for Jean to process. She had simply assumed the worst when it came to John. She had never once stopped to think that he had been concerned enough to do all this. Then, she said, "Maranda, you must be joking with me! John doesn't care about his colleagues."

"That's true." Maranda smiled and said, "There must be another reason why John stayed in my ward when you were not there." It was Jean, not John who had left Maranda alone at the hospital. How could Jean think that John was the irresponsible one?

At that moment, Jean fell silent as she pondered over everything she had just heard. Then she sighed as she spoke, "It seems that I have misunderstood him. I am a terrible person for treating him badly."

Jean was anxious and upset about her behavior with John.

She had not only misunderstood John, but also confronted him and accused him of being cold and selfish. He would surely hate her for how she had behaved.

Maranda softened when she saw how remorseful Jean looked. "What did you say to him, " Maranda couldn't help but ask. When she got no reply, Maranda prompted Jean, "Did you blame John just because you thought that he didn't go to look for you? Jean, what on earth happened yesterday?"